Timer-distributer mechanism



E. J. TOMLINSON. TIMER DISTRIBUTER MECHANISM.

APPLICATlON FILED NOV.3.1917.

Patented May13, 1919..

WW A TTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD J. TOMLINSON, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB TO SPLITDORFELECTRICAL COMPANY, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

TIMER-DISTRIBUTEE MEEHANISM.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD J. ToMmNsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Timer-DistributerMechanism, of which the following is a specification.

In the use of timer distributers for b8113- tery ignition systems somemeans should be provided for the adjustment of the contact operatingdevice, whereby when the timer distributor is installed on the enginewith which it is to operate, the proper timing of the contact withrespect to'the travel of the engine piston may be readily obtained.

In the past it has been customary to use a split shaft or a supplementalshaft end attached to the main shaft and to fasten the cam whichoperated the movable contact member thereto by meansot' a taper screwwhich spreads the split portion of the shaft or supplemental shaft sothat it grips the side surface of the hole in the cam which is placedupon the split end of the shaft.

Another method that has been. used to some extent is to provide a, taperon the end of the operating shaft and cooperating taper hole in the cam,drawing the cam down on to the tapered shaft by means of a nut or screw.During the final tightening of the nut or screw the cam is very apt tobe turned out of its proper position thus throwing out the timer, all ofwhich is well understood by one skilled in these matters.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide a mechanism whichmay be readily and accurately adjusted for purposes of timing and whichmay be locked securely in place without any danger, during the lockingprocess, of throwing the cam out of its properly adjusted position.

Another object of my invention is to provide a mechanism of thecharacter set forth in the principal object which is simple inconstruction and hence cheap to manufacture and is a great aid inthesaving of time in adjusting the timer to the engine.

These and other objects will be apparent after a study of thespecification and drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a sectional elevation ofa timer distributer with certain parts broken away to show featuresherein set forth.

Fi 2 is a top plan view of the timer mem er without the distributer.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 13, 1919.

Application filed November 3, 1917. Serial No. 200,175.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective end view of the operating shaft.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the contact and distributer ocrating device.

Referring now to the detai sin which like numbers refer to correspondingparts in the different views, 1 is a timer plate upon which is mounted amovable contact member 2 carrying contact 3 which is adapted tocooperate with a stationary adjustable con tact 4 that is carried by aninsulated block 5 fastened to the plate 1. 6 is a condenser which isadapted to be connected across the breaker points 3 and 4 in the usualmanner. 7 is a bearing member supporting shaft 8 which has an annulargroove 9 near its end to receive a thrust collar 10, which in Fig.

1 is broken away so as to show the groove 9. The end of the shaft 8terminates in a spindle 11 having internal threads 12. At the base ofthe spindle 11 on the shaft 8 is a number of teeth or indentations l3circumferentially arranged around the face of the shaft. The teeth 13may be cuton the end of the shaft or they may be indented thereon by asuitable press after which the shaft maybe ground to the properdiameter, etc., or the portion from the teeth 13 to the annular groove 9may be made up in the form of a small collar with the teeth 13 cut orpunched therein and the collar pressed on to the end of the shaft 8. Theexact ,manner of providing the teeth or indentations on the end of theshaft may be varied as will be readily understood. The same applies tothe teeth or indentations 14 which are formed in the end face of cam 15,it being understood, however, that the teeth or indentations 13 and 14are made to 006perate with each other as will be explained.

The cam 15 has a hole 17 passing there- .through and terminates in athimble 16 having a shoulder 18 against which screws 19 and lockwasher20 abut. A slot 21 is cut across the end of the thimble, preferably ofl.center, to receive a distributing finger 22 that distributes the hightension current to the contacts 23-of the distributer block 24 in theusual manner.

In order to get accurate timing, I prefer to use as many indentations orteeth in the end of the shaft-8 and cam 15 as is consistent with goodand speedy manufacture. preferably the number of teeth or indentationsshould be one more or less than a multiple of the number of surfaces onthe cam. In

the Figs. 1 and 2, I have shown a six lobe cam and I have been able tosecure close and accurate timing with a cam of this kind by utilizing 31teeth or indentations in both the shaft and cam. It will be seen that 31is one more than five times the number of cam surfaces, which is six andwith this arrangement I have found that if on timing one cam surface didnot operate the movable contact member at the proper point it is merelynecessary to turn the cam around until the teeth or indentations will gointo enmeshment with the cam surface that is in proper relationship withthe movable contact member. After this adjustment 'is secured it is onlynecessary to draw down the screw 19 thus securely engaging the teeth orindentations so that relative rotative movement between the cam 15 anddriving shaft 8 is absolutely prevented and of course, the screw andlockwasher prevent any longitudinal motion between the driving shaft 8and cam 15, thus holding the teeth or indentations in positiveenmeshment. In the enlarged views shown in Figs. 3 and 4 no attempt ismade to show the requisite number of teeth required to fulfil all theconditions of my invention. It will be readily understood that numerouschanges may be made in the various details relating to my inventionwithout departing from the spirit of the same or the scope of theappended claims.

Having thusdescribed my invention What I claim is k" 1. In an ignitiontimer distributer, the combination of an operating shaft terminating inan internally threaded spindle with teeth'cut on the end of the shaft atthe base of said spindle, a contact operating member consisting of ahollow cam having a thimble projecting there-from and having teeth outin its end face, said cam and thimble adapted to be carried on saidshaft spindle, a screw seated in said thimble and engaging the threadsof said spindle to hold said teeth in permanent enmeshment, and adistributing finger carried by said thimble.

2. In an ignition timer distributer, the combination of an operatingshaft terminating in a spindle with indentations on the end of the shaftat the base of the spindle, a contact operating member consisting of ahollow cam having a thimble projecting therefrom and having indentationsin its end face to 'coact with the indentations on said shaft end, saidindentations being in number equal to one more or less than a multipleof the number of said cam surfaces, said cam and thimble being adaptedto be carried on the shaft spindle with means for holding theindentations in Working relationship and a distributing finger carriedby said thimble.

In Witness whereof, I 'aflix my signature.

EDWARD J TOMLINSON.

